Flash Fiction #671 -- Forgotten/5

 

Cita wasn't sure where she got the energy to leap at Tennon and grab him by his shoulders. She shook him several times.  

"What do you mean, first?" Cita demanded.

Tennon extricated himself from her hold and took a cautious step backward. "Magic -- rule of three. We have two more."

"Those flying monstrosities don't count?" Atora asked.

"Gargoyles. They were just defending their territory."

"What next?" Urdo asked with a nervous twitch of his head.

"They still have Farlyn's stone, so we follow it.  Yes, that might lead to a trap, but that is still better than wandering aimlessly. Unless you wish to go back? I can get you to the staircase.  It is a long climb, but I doubt the gargoyles will bother you if I am not there."

No one said anything.

So they followed Tennon. Cita tried to believe that their mage had a clue to where they must go.  Sometimes she thought she could see a hint of green in the distance and assumed that must be the stone.

Following Tennon started to seem like traveling in a constant circle. The landscape rarely changed, and when it did, it was not for the better. Nor was the journey helped by Tennon repeating tales of past adventures that seemed far too much like this one. That only made her think, even though that was part of the circle.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything around them changed to a landscape of low hills covered in small fires that seemed to move on their own.

"Well," Tennon said as he looked around. "This is different."

Cita thought he sounded too assured, as if he believed his magic could take on anything. He had already used considerable power to get them this far. He acted as though he had infinite powers to draw upon, but Cita knew mages didn't work that way. Was a mage-priest any different?

Another thought intruded. Was it possible that Tennon was not anything like what they thought he might be?

She glanced his way and was shocked to find him nodding in her direction. "It took you long enough to figure that one out," he said. "I didn't mean to hide anything from you.  It just seemed as if there was no right time to explain. Watch out!"

Cita spun to find one of the fire creatures waving spindly arms at her. They shot out fireballs and sparks. She swept her blade at it out of habit before considering how the fire would react to metal.

Cita almost tossed the weapon aside before she realized it was not reduced to a molten mass of iron. In fact, the creature shriveled and died as it spat a few useless sparks at her, then shriveled into a pile of ash. Tennon knelt long enough to scoop up a couple of handfuls of ash and shove it into a pouch.

"Use your blades!" Cita shouted to the others and hoped her encounter had not been a fluke. In moments, dozens of the fire creatures were turning to ash.

But there were too many. They fought in pairs, the other two resting while the other two swept their weapons into the massing creatures.

"Storm," Tennon gasped.  "I need a moment --"

Atora and Urdo rose to fight while their mage -- or whatever he was -- took a step back and began to chant. The fire creatures paused for one heartbeat and then surged forward.

Cita hoped the rain would come in time.

Deluge.  It felt as though a river suddenly dropped on them. Creatures of fire turned to shapes of ash and then disappeared into the mud. The rain only lasted a few dozen heartbeats, but as it eased back, she could see that Tennon had defeated the enemy.  He had also fallen on his back in the mud.

Cita stared down at him,  "What are you?"

"An embarrassed godling." He sat up on his own but accepted her hand to stand. Cita released his too-warm hand in haste.  "My father is a god and my mother a fae. That gives me unusual powers, but I am limited by being one of the Forgotten."

"Forgotten," Cita echoed. They were already heading away from the battlefield.

"The gods scatter offspring wherever they pass and think nothing of it. They forget as part of their nature.  The fae are different. They only send a child out if there is a reason it cannot survive in the fae world. In that case, they are forgotten for a reason.  I suffer from both types, which makes it difficult for me to call upon any help."

"And then, here we are," Urdo added.

"I did not ask for you," Tennon said.  "You did not ask for my help, either.  As one of the Forgotten, the best I can do is join with others if I think I can help.  I did not expect to find the problem with Farlyn. I could have sent you away --"

"We are here," Urdo said. "You better get moving, or we'll leave you behind."

Cita planned on a long discussion later, but right now, Urdo was right to get them moving.  They had one more battle to fight.

Flash Ficton #670 -- Forgotten/4

 

Cita realized the creatures didn't notice that Tennon had allies.

She felt panic for a heartbeat before it transformed from 'flight' to 'fight'. If the creatures hadn't been so intent on Tennon, or maybe stopped yowling and growling for a moment, they would have noticed Cita shouting orders to her companions.

Tennon wasn't helpless. One tumbled lifelessly down the stairs while another glowed briefly and disappeared. Cita saw the boy balanced precariously at the edge of a step.  He had a dark-bladed sword in his hand, and she didn't know where it came from.

Cita didn't doubt it had power, though. It destroyed these creatures so easily that she felt tempted to leave the battle to him. Unfortunately, another ten of the creatures and they noticed that Tennon was not alone.

"Stay close together," Tennon shouted.  "Guard your backs and heads!"

Good advice. The three of them immediately moved to Tennon to form a square as best they could on the stairs. He gave a nod of appreciation, although his sword never stopped. Urdo was doing almost as well with his non-magical, but thick-bladed sword. He grunted every time he swung the heavy weapon, but rarely missed a blow.
Atura fought with matched short blades.  Usually, her battles looked like a graceful dance.  That wasn't entirely possible on the stairs, but she held her own.

Cita found that her long knife wasn't the best weapon against creatures with multiple claws and wings. One came behind and caught her by the hair jerking upward. Cita sliced off a strip of hair, spun, and cut the creature with her blade in a wing.

It howled and tried to pull away, but the knife tore a long, ragged wound through the thin skin and tendons.  The wing folded, and the creature, his long-nailed feet barely on a step, shouted in pain. It tumbled backward, hit its head on the stone steps, and went limp.

Cita spun and found the battle done.  The enemy either lay dead at their feet or retreated in flight.

"We must go!" Tennon ordered.  He tied a piece of cloth around Atora's right wrist, a touch of magic helping to stop the bleeding. All of them had suffered cuts and bites.  "Go, go!"

So they headed downward again. Cita wasn't alone in watching the clouds for more of the demons.  They rushed across the stairs, all of them growing breathless.

Things flew close by, but those intrusions lessened as the clouds thinned.  They broke out into a bright sunlit day, but kept heading downward for another hundred steps before Tennon signaled a stop.

At least they could see the ground from here. Fields, paths, and a distant town with a huge temple of some sort.  Cita hoped that was good.

She saw a flash of green from a high temple tower.

"Tennon --"

"I saw it.  At least we don't have to hunt through a realm or two." Tennon lifted his hand and nodded.  "It is a trap, of course. But it is his stone."

"And we'll walk right into it," Cita said.

"Actually, I thought we would fly.  Now."

Cita barely had time to yelp as a wind caught hold of her, lifting all of them upward by several yards.  Atora looked like she might pass out from the fear, but Urdo looked as though he was born to fly.

Cita wasn't certain of her own feelings and didn't have time to contemplate them.  At this speed, Tennon was going to splatter them against the tower wall.

They barely slowed as they neared with Tennon in the lead. He threw himself through a window, and the other three quickly popped through, with Cita entering last. She rolled and came to her feet.

Late to the battle.

Urdo was down with Atora standing over him while he grabbed at his fallen sword. That left Tennon alone fighting a multi-armed monstrosity with even more eye tentacles. There was no way to take down such a creature.

"Tennon -- what should we do?" Cita asked, her voice trembling.

"Surprise me."

She almost snapped a rude answer before she realized the underlying wisdom in what he said. She had to believe that this thing not only saw, but also heard and understood any plans. Surprise was their best weapon.

Cita stepped back to her companions. She offered a hand to Urdo to get him to his feet. 

"Will your leg hold up for one more attack?" she asked.

He grinned in agreement.

They spun and rushed the creature, all three of them throwing themselves at the ground and cutting into the five thick legs that held it up

It screamed and thrashed, claws catching hold of cloth and skin. Cita hoped the others were smart enough to protect their heads. Atora had graduated from legs to eye stalks while the other three focused on arms.

Tennon found the shell-encased brain.  The black sword sliced through it several times before he stepped back and nodded as it shriveled into a mass of black and disappeared.

"Good!" Tennon said.  "That's one down!" 

Flash Fiction #669 -- Forgotten/3

 Cita had no idea what they would do next. As the supposed leader of the small troupe, she thought she ought to make an important decision now. 

Instead, she watched as Tennon walked to the skeleton and leaned down to gently touch the skull.  He jumped backward when the mouth popped open, showing dagger-like teeth.

A piece of green cloth was caught on one of the teeth.  Tennon reached in and pulled it out.

"Smart dragon," he mumbled as he crumpled the cloth in his hand. He looked at the others. "This is our link to Forlyn, or at least the one who took his stone. This will not be an easy journey, and even with this cloth, I can't tell what we will find.  I only know which way the person wearing this cloth went."

"Person?" Urdo asked.

Tennon held up the cloth.  "This is the bottom half of a sleeve.  It seems at least human-like.  Not fae as far as I can sense, but the person must have power."

"Or powerful companions," Atora said.  "Or both."

"Both," Tennon agreed.  He looked past the dragon to an archway and a staircase that appeared to go downward for a long distance. Tennon crossed to look down and frowned when the other three joined him.  "This is more danger. You should go back now.  I can get you there."

"And we wait to see if you win?" Atora asked.  "What happens if you don't win?"

"Forces that have tried for eons will finally break through and raid this realm. The gate is weaker now, but if I fall, so does the magic that holds the destruction back. You might do better by being there to help."

The entire world seemed to take a shuddering breath, the air itself trembling.

"I am going with you," Cita said. 

All four headed downward, although she thought Urdo mumbled a few curses. She couldn't quite hear what he said, so she couldn't decide if she agreed.

A few steps later, Tennon stopped and nodded at Urdo.

"You are right. We have had no discussion about either time or distance. My offer to send you back at any time will always stand–– as long as I do. You might be wise to consider your choices before we go into battle rather than during it."

"And we are likely to have a battle, aren't we?" Cita asked as he started downward again. She still couldn't see the landscape at the bottom of the stairs. In fact, she couldn't see the bottom of the stairs, which seemed to be lost in a cloudy mist.

"You have fallen into an ancient war that has waged ever since the beginning of time. There have been battles that have included everything from Ragnarok to D-Day. We are more likely to find ourselves in a skirmish rather than anything large, but that doesn't make it any less important, especially if we find the ones who took Farlyn's essence."

That seemed a wise thing to tell them, and Cita kept whatever question she had to herself this time. Urdo seemed content with the answer, and since he was their only true warrior, Cita accepted his reaction. She never quite decided what Atora wanted and decided now wasn't the time to ask.

So they kept going right down to the edge of the mist, where the tenant finally stopped and sat down on the stairs. They were all worn by now, and none of them was in a good mood. Even Tennon snarled at the wispy clouds below them. Atora drew out some bread and cheese from her supplies and passed pieces of it around to everyone. That improved the mood of the group.

At least right until something yowled in the mist below them. Tennon snarled in a way that made him look far from human. No one had ever asked the questions. Tennon stood and shot lightning into the heart of the cloud. With no warning, they were in a battle.

Things came out of the clouds. Small, annoying creatures, easy to bat away, formed the first wave. Cita soon realized they were an intentional distraction. She was the first to see these long-winged dark creatures emerge from the misty cloud.  

All ten of them went for Tennon before she could shout a warning.

(continued)

 

Flash Fiction #668 --Forgotten/2

 

Tennon had stopped them at the last easy part of the journey. After that, they fought through bracken, weeds, and saplings, moving closer to the river. Cita thought she could hear water rushing through rapids. Were they going to cross the river? Why not when it had been less turbulent?

Cita wanted to ask questions -- many questions.  However, she feared trespassing into areas that Tennon didn't want to discuss, and she didn't want to push that line.  Surprisingly, even Urdo held his peace for a change. In fact, he looked pleased, even while the roar of the river grew louder.  

They stepped out of the trees at the base of a gigantic bridge that led straight through the heart of a massive waterfall. Cita could not see through the water and mist to the other side, but she had the feeling of a building gathering shadows around it and hiding from the world. The distance and the river made it impossible to make out any details, though.

"He should have started across to meet us," Tennon said. Cita caught a hint of desperation in his face, but he quickly buried that emotion.  "I sense nothing beyond the gateway."
"Gateway?" Atora asked with a growing expression of distrust.

"Between here and the realm of the gods," Tennon answered, paying no attention to her worry.

Cita didn't like that answer any more than the rest of her companions did -- however, she had no intention of pushing for more information. The other two fell silent as well.

Tennon turned to her and started to speak.  He even changed his mind.

"Let's go, then," Tennon said.  He stepped toward the bridge. "The fae built this. It is not as straightforward as it seems."

Cita had never dealt with anything fae-related, of course. Until a few heartbeats ago, she thought they were nothing more than tales for children.

Cita didn't like walking into the mist, even with Tennon and his magic at her side. The white stone surface melded into the water ... but the thunder of the falling river muted to a slight whisper. Cita didn't feel better for it. Cita didn't feel safer walking beside Tennoon. She had no idea of his abilities or his limitations. She wasn't even sure what he might be beneath that human facade.  Was now the time to mistrust him?

Cita turned to Urdo -- but he wasn't there. Neither was Atora --

Tennon grabbed her arm just as she started to panic and head back to find them..

"I have them. They are safe."  He gave Cita a slight shake.  "Be calm.  Trust me.  We are almost there."

As far as she could tell, they were nowhere. Her friends were gone, and she was lost.

"I cannot say this again: trust me."

Cannot?
    
Trust him or go off on her own?  Cita was not that stupid.

"I trust you." Just not as much as he might want.

Cita realized she had passed a test. Tennon looked both relieved and pleased. He still held her arm, but it felt more like camaraderie rather than command.

Like she belonged.

They broke out of the mist and stepped onto an open balcony that seemed more like a temple. The skeleton of a mid-sized dragon lay stretched out across the floor.

Tennon faltered, and Cita caught him.

"No," he whispered.  "It can't be --" Then he stopped and nodded, the fear of a moment ago, gone. "Of course it is not true. He isn't dead."

"He's a skeleton," Urdo pointed out.

"When dragons die, they disappear. And I would have known.  His Stone of Being is gone.  It is a palm-sized Ruby that sat in the middle of his forehead.  Forlyn isn't dead, but he will be hard to find."

(continued)

Flash Fiction #667 -- Forgotten/1

 

"There is a problem ahead," the boy said as he looked back, startling his three companions.

It wasn't what he said that startled them. There had been trouble ahead for the entire month-long journey.  It was that their companion spoke at all that unsettled the three. He'd said nothing when he joined them at the edge of the village until now.

Not an auspicious start to their first conversation, Cita thought. She was the leader of the expedition, but she had never gotten used to being in command.

"Priest," she addressed him because that was what they'd decided he must be, despite his young age. She shaped her words carefully. It was best not to anger the servant of some god. Then she looked back at him and threw caution to the wind. "Boy, is there anything helpful you can tell us?"

He met her look, grave as ever.  "Never take in a priest without knowing what they're after."

Silence filled the area, except for the rush of the river they had followed far into the unknown mountains. Urdo and Atora were doing their best imitations of being nothing at all.  There would be no help there.    

Cita glimpsed humor in the priest's eyes.  "You have been waiting to say that for a long time, haven't you?" she asked.

"You have no idea how long." He pushed back his hood, showing his long, braided hair for the first time.  "Sit down.  Now that we are this close, we need to talk."

"Since it is too late to go back?" Urdo demanded, dour as ever.

The priest looked around.  "I see no one stopping you."

Urdo frowned but settled on some grass, resting on his elbow as he stretched out.  He even looked intrigued.  So did Artura as she sat on a log by Cita.

"I am Tennon," the boy said as he sat cross-legged in the grass near Urdo.  "I am a Guide of Orantis -- which means I lead the worthy through the dangers on the last part of the journey."

"Orantis is a very old god," Urdo complained.

"They all are," Atora countered.

"Worthy?" Cita asked, hoping to cut their conversation short.  "We aren't members of your temple or followers of your god, or any of the Old Ones."

"Worthy," he repeated, and seemed to look for the right words.  "That is a state of mind. You have come this far without arguments or talk of glory and a dragon horde to plunder.  Rather, you look for forgotten stories to go with your legends.  None of you is looking for riches: you want to find truths."

"I am hoping for both," Urdo admitted and won a grin from Tennon.  "But say you are right about why we are here.  What is your place in this group?"

"Guide," he repeated as he stood.  "And guardian."

"A Guardian against what?" Cita asked.

"Other legends." He lifted his hand and traced a glowing symbol in the air. Somewhere in the woods nearby, a creature howled and hissed.  The other three were instantly on their feet.  "Yes, time to go.  This way."

The symbol moved, lighting their path with a silvery glow.  Large things moved around them, but nothing came into the light.  Cita wondered if they were now over the line and couldn't go home.  Urdo wasn't the only one who kept looking back.

Tennon led the way. He somehow had taken over the group in those few words he had spoken. Cita thought to complain, but that idea passed quickly.  Tennon at least seemed to know where to go -- and he had magic.

Magic.  No one had seen such powers in this part of the world for a few generations. Then this boy brings it back with a simple wave of his hand, and acts as though this is normal. Cita forced herself to look away from the magic symbol and at Tennon instead.

"Why are you a guide and guardian?" she asked.

He glanced at her and away.  "No one asked that.  It was my assigned duty, and an important one in the days when the pilgrims still came."

A long time ago, she thought.

"The gods fought a long war. They forgot us. I am not the only one."

(continued)

Flash Fiction #666 -- Hel To Pay

 Toby, the farm dog, called the goats to him. They complained about leaving their feed, but Toby didn't care. This would be over quickly. He made certain Helen, the barn cat, handled the sheep nearby. Many farm animals respected the fiery little cat and her many sharp claws.

"I am going to be gone for a few days. You will behave." They made sounds of protest. Nearby, the sheep bleated in distress as the cat yowled. "If not … There will be Hel to pay."

They looked at the cat and went quietly to their food. There would be no trouble.

Flash Fiction #665 -- Chicken!

 

"What are you staring at, Tommy Cat?" Patches pushed her way to the hole in the fence, displacing her large and lazy cousin. "Chickens. Boring."

"Baby chicken," Tommy corrected. "It wouldn't take much to catch a couple paws full."

"The hens would kill you."

Tommy climbed over the fence and found chicks racing toward him.

"New friend play!"

Patches laughed from beyond the fence. By the time the hens arrived, Tommy was covered in chicks. Tommy turned out to be an excellent guard for his new friends, chasing off hawks and rodents. The farmer noticed and gave him better food.

Flash Fiction # 664 -- Autumn's Apples

 

I had been standing in the keep's garden while the master mage showed me how to use the wand to grow apples in a few minutes instead of weeks. This took a lot of power, but it meant safety from starvation during a siege.  There had been raids along the border, and we expected trouble at the keep soon. Gwyna had been with us in the garden earlier, but Master Mage Rox grew tired of her inability to follow directions.

Knight Coventry led his horse (some said side-kick) through the garden, constantly reminding the horse to eat nothing. Cov and Autumn would be out on the trails for a while, and neither looked happy.

That was the last bit of sanity I remembered until I found myself in a village market in a place I did not recognize. A jumbled flash of memory brought disjointed scenes to mind. Cov had started for the garden gate. Autumn wanted some berries and didn't move.

Something bright flashed. Mage Rox shouted for everyone to stop. The wand was missing.

After that? It felt as though I bounced from place to place without knowing how I moved from one spot to the next.

When Cov arrived at the city gate, I knew it was time to leave. I disappeared into the market-day crowd, glancing back every few yards. The knight followed me, but that might only have been a chance since we were both on the main road from the gate to the castle.

I lost track of him in the market, and that did not make me feel better. Was he here for me, or was it a chance? I could almost wish to bounce again.

I turned and ran face-first into a horse.

"There you are," a familiar voice said from somewhere over my head.  "It is a good thing Autumn has forgiven you for abandoning us. He doesn't usually let people just run into him."

Autumn gave what looked like a nod of agreement. I knew he was eying the half-eaten apple in my basket. I let him sneak it out, and his rider pretended not to notice when the horse shoved it into a saddlebag.

I finally took a step backward and looked upward.  How appropriate that sunlight wreathed Cov's head.

"Knight Coventry," I said with a bow. We were drawing attention.  I sighed.  "I did not take the wand."

"Of course you didn't," Cov said with a sigh of tried patience.  "If anyone with magic had touched the wand, we all would have known it."

"Then why have you been chasing me?" I demanded.

"Why did you run?"

"I didn't. I just kept going places.  Where am I?"

Coventry came off Autumn swiftly and unexpectedly grabbed me by the shoulders. I took offense at his attitude and snarled something rude before I realized he was trying to keep me here.

 "Why aren't you back at the keep? You had to realize that this was more than a simple theft."

"Mage Rox is unhappy. Best to at least pretend I could go off on a hunt and come back with the answer and the wand."

Autumn vigorously nodded in agreement. I suspected the horse spent far too much time around people of power.

The horse took another apple.

I felt a buzzing in my body, but Cov held me in place. Then he used a quick spell to sever the magic that had been controlling me. We both felt it snap. I would have liked to trace it, but we had other problems. Local guards were heading our way.  We both wore the symbols of our vocation, so there was no doubt of our power, even if people didn't realize that Cov was the mage's knight.

"Cov?" I said as more soldiers neared.

"You, me, and Rox were the only ones present. Rox is mad --"

"But he has to know we didn't take it!" I waved a hunter spell into the air.

DING.

Cov and I stared at each other in shocked disbelief.  He cast the same spell.

DING.

"We have instructions --"

DING.

"There were only the three of us," Cov said. He signaled the soldiers back. A few of them recognized him and seemed confused.

Although not as much as we were.

I tried the spell a few more times -- right, left, up.

"It moves." I did another round of DINGs

"None of us have moved  Why would --"

We both had the answer.

"Autumn!"

"She couldn't have eaten it," Cov said, grabbing the bridle when she tried to back away. "The wand is indestructible! What have you done?"

"Apples," I said. "She put it with her stolen apples."

Cov pulled it out. He looked frustrated, annoyed, and slightly amused.
Mage Rox had felt him pick up the wand. Cov held it out to him.

"Well?" Rox asked.  

"Autumn," he said.

"I suspect she saw us making apples," I offered.  "That horse will do just about anything for an apple."

"There is nothing more dangerous than a smart horse," Rox mumbled.

Autumn preened.

"Why was I jumping from place to place?" I asked.

"Gwyna," Rox replied.  His eyes flashed with anger. "She tried a new spell she'd been working on to send a person somewhere else.  Only she couldn't decide where.  It wasn't until Cov broke the spell that I found you. And then the wand turned up as well."

"Can we use the spell against enemy troops?" Cav asked. "Or at least their leader?"

"You mean she may actually have a use?" Rox asked. "Let's go home and talk about it over a meal."

They began to fade when Autumn grabbed a basket of apples.  

Flash Fiction #663 -- Master (Drabble)

 

Others called the little lizard a fool and worse. They demanded he stop lecturing them about philosophy and return to good lizard work, like building mud nests and hunting insects.

The little lizard decided on a different path. He built a leaf boat and floated down the Summer Stream. He passed through the forest, fields, and dangerous rapids and finally reached the edge of human land. He abandoned his boat and went to the village.

He met a group of mice who became enthralled with his happy philosophy of life. They soon called him Master.

Master had found his place.

Flash Ficton # 662 -- More Neko Adventures/10

 

 

Neko knew he could draw Maude's attention.  That was the easy part since he was still her prime target.  Getting her to follow him back into the castle was a different matter. She may have been single-minded in her revenge, but she wasn't stupid.

Neko and his friends did their best to make the cat's retreat look realistic. First, Colin went down while under attack and disappeared. As Maude swept in at them, Shosha raced for the door into the building, and Neko was to follow, limping as if injured.

The injury didn't need to be faked. Maude had picked up some fire sprites. One caught his back right leg and left a painful burn before Neko kicked it off into the moat, where the thing fizzled and died.

Shosha had just reached the door and darted inside.

The door slammed shut as Neko turned to follow her. Even though this was part of the plan, Neko still gave a cry of shock and despair.  Maude laughed. That sound unsettled him more than he had expected. He rushed to the door, ignoring the pain in his leg, and pounded on it.

"Let me in!  Let me in!"
The door didn't move, even when Maude landed a few feet behind him.Neko pounded a little more frantically.

"What did you expect? You are just a cat to them.  I let you share in my glory!" She took several quick steps forward.  "But you are mine now."
Neko had been saving his power.  He used it now as Maude leaped at him.  His power hit her when both her feet left the ground.  Amateur mistake. She flipped head over heels for three rounds before she hit the ground.

Neko took a step forward, hoping she was stunned.  Unfortunately, Maude immediately sat up, howling in rage and throwing magic in all directions, just as he had expected. He bounced some of it back at her, and she surged up, her hair flying in wild wisps around her head as she flew toward him.

Nico retreated into the building, with Maude only an arm's length behind him.  Maude never noticed Shosha, who rushed outside as soon as the witch had gone past. Neko had intended to go a couple of yards farther, but he realized his injured leg would not hold him that far. Neko was slowed as well.  By the time he spun to head toward the door, she could brush her finger over his ear.

She almost had him.

Neko dropped flat on the floor as she cursed and went over him.  The cat used all the magic he could to launch himself straight back at the door.

It worked, but only because Maude, so close to the kill, had not prepared herself for the masonry wall.  She hit hard and fell with a moan.  Neko almost turned back to finish her, but she was still moving --

By the time he rushed out the door, she was already on her feet, her hands raised.  Maude's eyes glowed yellow with uncontrollable rage as he rolled out the door.

Colin slammed the door and shoved a huge seal over it, barely in time to stop Maude's spell that would have obliterated a large section of the building.  The power of the seal had not been easy to manifest, and Colin went to his knees, gasping.

Dorian, Merlin, and Tamaran worked together on the roof to spread a wall of magical marble over the building. The first layer glowed a brilliant white, almost blinding Neko. He could still hear Maude screaming in rage until the next layer spread downward over the first.  This one was a dull gray that held its own magic while it hid the power behind it.

The third layer was a forbidding black that covered all the other work entirely, so it looked like a small hill rather than a prison.  Neko sat and waited. It was over an hour before the three came down. Colin was steadier and had done a little work on Neko's leg. It still hurt, but he said nothing.

They settled on the bridge, and all of them stared at the new hill.

"It won't be long before people forget there is a building under there," Merlin said.  He looked pleased. "I think a layer of dirt, grass, and brush will help."
With a wave of his hand, he added that covering.  It looked better. He also filled in the mote and changed the bridge to a road that led around the barrier and off to ... somewhere else.

It all looked better, but Neko knew Maude was still right there, and she would work at getting out. He watched with renewed worry, knowing they had only slowed her.  Who knew how soon she'd find a way out?

"I will stay and guard," Neko said. He tried not to sound bothered, but at least he wasn't trapped in a small building.  "She will-"

"As soon as she stops screaming, she will lie down and sleep for a long, long time," Merlin said.  "We might even get lucky, and she out-sleeps her own magic. If she doesn't, we still will not see her again for at least two centuries.  You need not sit and wait, Neko."

"Good.  Thank you.  I suppose we'll find enough trouble without her help."

"More than enough," Luna said. Then she smiled.  "But we will face our troubles together."

No one asked for details.

Word spread quickly about what they had done to Maude.  No one else bothered them for the rest of the trip, but Neko knew there would be other adventures -- problems -- ahead.

He kept an eye on Luna.

The End

Flash Fiction #661 -- More Neko Adventures/9

 

Neko was still trying to plot the quickest way out of the castle and the realm when Dorian suddenly stood.  Then he sat again.

"Merlin and I don't always get along," the fae explained.

Oh, even better, Neko thought.  He scooted back under Colin's chair.

"Merlin doesn't always get along with anyone," Tamaran replied as he pushed aside some parchments.

"Arthur-" Dorian began.

"Arthur hasn't forgiven him for not mentioning that problem between Arthur's best friend and wife. Things are still a bit touchy.  But that isn't our problem now.  You barely missed him.  He felt an intrusion in the veil, and it held the scent of an old enemy-"

"Maude," Colin said and won a curious stare from Tamaran.  "We have had trouble with her for some time, and I fear she followed us here.  We didn't know this was Merlin's realm."

"I wonder if Maude realizes where she is," Dorian added. He paused for a moment and then shook his head.  "I suspect she knew no more than we did. Probably less since she followed us, and I had chosen a place with little magic — or so I thought."

Colin looked pleased. "Meeting Merlin should surprise her." He looked around and gave a nod to Dorian. He returned it. "Our three companions are special-"

"Neko, Shosha, and Reggie," Tamaran replied. He gave a nod of recognition to each of them. "I wasn't entirely sure it was you, Reginald.  Nice new form."

"Temporary," Reggie replied.  Did Neko hear regret in that voice? "It did seem wiser than a huge penguin wandering around. I know not everyone can see me, but I don't want to startle a mage."

  Neko looked him over.  "Do you want to remain a hawk? I don't mind.  But wait.  You should be whatever you feel is appropriate to the moment."

Neko hadn't expected the silence that followed his statement.  It had seemed a logical suggestion.

"A wise and kind gift," Tamaran stated.  "It should make your future work all that much easier. Trouble!"

Future work?

Before he could form a question, the building shook as unleashed magic swept over it.  Not far away, a considerable amount of power exploded, sending waves of magic toward them once more. Neko could feel Maude's magic and another source that must have been Merlin.


His magic felt subtle. Neko was certain that subtlety would not work with Maude. That seemed confirmed by the next explosion, which cracked windows in the building. Tamaran frowned; with a wave of his hand, he reinforced the protective spell on the castle.

"I think we can guess how well that meeting went," Reggie said, looking down at Neko. "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that she's forgotten all about us. Merlin is a far more formidable enemy."

"And he, if she somehow won, who could provide her with the power to rule a dozen realms or more,"  Colin added.

"I think we need to go help –" Dorian said.

"There is no need," Tamaran said.  "Merlin is on his way." A bright light grew at the doorway. "Merlin is here."

Neko moved a little to the side so that he could get his first look at the legendary human mage. Because of Maude, he had thought nothing good about humans with magic. At the moment, he couldn't say that Merlin was any better than Maude. Just being her enemy was not enough of a recommendation.

Merlin looked younger than any of the illustrations Neko had seen. He looked a lot like Colin and could probably pass for a Fae.  His face was flushed, and his hands moved in a nervous gesture that unsettled Tamaran.

"Reginald,"  he said.  "And Dorian.  Interesting combination."

"Just a matter of show," Dorian assured him.  "Reggie is assigned to Neko."

"But it would look odd for a cat to walk around with a hawk on his shoulder," Neko added.

Merlin gave a slight sound of amusement. Good.  That said something about his temperament.

"She is heading our way," Colin warned.  "We have little time for a plan."

"The best we can do is to keep her angry," Shosha offered.  "And keep me away from her."

"Shosha is right," Neko replied. "The best we can do is to keep her mad, so she doesn't think things through. Maude has always depended on power over intelligence, but if she thinks about what she's doing, Maude will start conserving magic. We don't want her to do that."

"This is a group with considerable magic," Tamaren replied.  "We ought to be able to do more than just make her angry."

"Don't worry.  We'll get to that part," Colin assured him. "I just hope we can deal with her for good this time."

Neko ended up telling the story of Maude's involvement with his life.  "And then I tripped her on the stairs.  We all thought she was dead.  We won't make that mistake again."

"And she knows it," Luna said. "She won't try that ploy again. I wish I could see things clearer, but I don't see anything that indicates we lose the battle."

"And from that, I assume you also don't see that we win," Merlin added. "Don't worry, Luna. We all understand how difficult your gift can be."

Luna mumbled her thanks, still looking bothered by her inability to give them something more tangible. Neko understood; being a cat gave him limitations as well.

"She's not alone," Neko said, trying to show he had use.  It was a stupid reaction, but at least his observation appeared to startle the others.  

Merlin nodded in agreement. "Yes, I can sense others as well.  Good catch, my friend. I like to think we would have noticed before a battle, but now we know to keep watch for more enemies."

"She is going to take her frustration out on the village," Dorian said.  "We need to act soon and keep her anger on us."

Neko stepped forward.  "I have a plan."

Flash Fiction # 660 -- More Neko Adventures/8

 

They had followed a wagon path; well-worn wheel tracks knifed into the sightly muddy dirt.

"Bringing firewood to the castle," Colin said, and Dorian nodded.

Neko wanted to ask what castle, but he, Shosha, and even Reggie were already in silent mode. Reggie was a hawk for the duration of their visit. As long as Neko stayed close to him and Dorian, the spirit animal was fine. If Neko wandered off, so would Reggie.

They emerged from the wilderness into a sloping valley lined with groups of buildings at varying levels. Their wagon path became lined with well-worked stone, although it was not often used. Newly grown spring weeds vied for space with saplings and piles of last year's autumn leaves. Most of the buildings looked abandoned, and only a few people walked the stairways and winding paths.

Their entrance had not gone unnoticed. People peeked out of darkened doorways, and children froze in mid-play in yards. The sight of the young ones made Neko realize that this was not a fae settlement. There would never be so many children if the fae lived here.  They rarely raised any young. These appeared to be human.

He hadn't realized it at first because there was a touch of magic in the air.  Neko sniffed at it, fearing this was the work of human power. Humans with such magic were most often troublesome.  The power felt diffused, though, and rarely used. Neko thought it might be nothing more than a protection spell.  Apparently, they did not trigger it as a danger.

Their road crested one last hill and then led straight down a steep slope to a wide stone bridge over a river and then to the castle gate.

The imposing castle stood four stories high, with several square towers rising an additional two floors above the curtain wall. The building's stonework  appeared to be a uniform white and gold marble, glittering in the sunlight. The inner keep rose even taller, graced with several glazed round windows.  Neko had seen nothing like it, even in all the books he'd studied.

They didn't slow.  Dorian and Colin said nothing, so the rest of them kept quiet, although Neko had questions.  Very many questions.  He could sense magic nowhere but at the castle, and that was not fae power. Few humans had attained this powerful of magic.

Neko wondered why they hadn't asked Luna about any upcoming trouble.  Probably because they had no choice.  Besides, the few times they had asked her, it had led to complex and ultimately useless plans. If she offered advice, though, it worked out well for them.

Neko glanced her way in hope.  She said nothing.  They walked on in silence.    

"A lot of activity at the gate," Colin said softly as they reached the bridge.  "But no banner is flying.  The Lord of the castle is not in residence."

 "That may be a blessing," Dorian replied and didn't miss a step.

"You know where we are?" Colin asked, a frown growing.

"I fear I do."

There was no time to ask more.  Luna even frowned, and Shosha tried to find a pocket to hide in.  Neko just walked along, only glancing at Reggie-hawk, who was holding onto Dorian's shoulder. He looked down and nodded as if they shared a common understanding.

Neko was starting to get annoyed.

The guards escorted them through the gate, a corridor that led through the curtain wall, and out into a remarkably well-maintained inner courtyard.

A man in fine robes strode across the courtyard to meet them.  If this was not the lord of the keep himself, then the place must be very rich to afford such clothing for an underling.

Neko realized the guards were well-dressed and carried excellent short swords as well.  Despite a decline in population in the surrounding village, this wasn't a backwater border settlement.

"Greetings," the man said when he reached them. "I am the castellan, Tamaran.  I fear we did not expect guests and are unprepared for such an unusual group."

He looked at each of them in turn, and Neko had the oddest feeling that he could judge them well. Tamaran looked bothered, but not worried.

Then he gave a quick look upward, as though he expected trouble to fall out of the sky. "Let us go inside and speak," he said.  

Luna emphatically nodded in agreement. No one else spoke.

Tamaran took us straight inside, waving aside questions from several anxious servants and guards.  He finally stopped by a door and looked at the people still milling around.

"There is no news.  These travelers have come on a different matter."

Neko saw many of the people turn away with apparent regret. He realized something else was going on here, and he feared they were soon going to be drawn into it.

Tamaran unlocked the door beside him, pushed it open, and waved the others in ahead of him. Neko was last in line and paused at the threshold, his ears folding back --

 Tamaran looked him in the face.  "You are a cat.  The curiosity would have you yelling at the door if I locked you out."

He was right, of course.  So Neko walked in with no more show.  Tamaran followed and locked the door behind him. He looked relieved, and Neko wondered if it had been the servants and guards who worried him so much or something else.  He supposed they would soon find out.

Everyone found seats.  Neko settled at Colin's feet like a friendly, polite, and normal cat, but he had the feeling none of it fooled Tamaran.  He took his place behind the desk.  Neko suddenly thought he looked too young for this kind of power.

"I am curious what brought two fae and their unusual companions to Lord Myrddin's realm, especially at this time of trouble."

Neko thought his heart stopped and then raced to catch up again.  He twitched, but so did all of his companions.

Myrddin.  Merlin.
 

Flash Fiction #659 --More Neko Adventures/7

 

"Colin!" Luna yelled.

"Penguin to the rescue!" Reggie shouted and leaped into the storm.

Neko made a sound that might have been disbelief or rage. He started to move, but Shosha caught hold of him with a wail of despair. He almost tried to shake free of her, but she might have fallen out of the boat as well.  Neko didn't want to go flying after her.

Neko had to trust his spirit animal to save their fae friend.

He wanted to pound his head against something.

It wasn't necessary, though.  The storm started pounding him with hail.  Shosha hissed. After a moment's hesitation, Neko did as well. Maybe the storm listened to them.  The wind eased, and the boat settled into a much gentler rocking motion.

Neko dared to dash across to where Luna leaned over the side. He almost leaped on her shoulder, but suddenly, Reggie hopped up over the railing with Colin hanging over his shoulder. He unceremoniously dropped the fae and then fell on his back.
"I flew," Reggie said, looking Neko in the face.  "I am the first penguin ever to have flown.

"And?" Neko asked, watching as Luna helped a still-dazed Colin sit up.

"I enjoy having my feet on a solid surface," Reggie answered.

That sounded wise to Neko.  He almost said so, but Colin turned his attention to Neko, who felt a rush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Colin," he said, bowing his head.

"You were right. I was so focused on the feel of Maude that I lost track of the actual storm.  We were heading for serious trouble. I think she might have put us on that path. She could have slipped the thought in and kept me watching where she wanted."

"Instead of where?" Shosha asked.

Now, there was a good question.  All of them looked around with a start, and gradually, they all focused on the northeast corner of the storm. Flashes of sullen red light defined those clouds as they swirled and drew closer.

"Time to leave," Colin said.  "Everyone, hold on.  Dorian?"

"Ready." His voice seemed to come from every direction.

That was all the warning they had.  Neko glanced toward the clouds in time to see a giant hand reaching for them. He didn't have time to give a warning.

And didn't need to.  A gale-force wind rushed over and around them, the sails flapping in all directions and sending them skittering along the edge of the clouds. Neko held on to Shosha, who seemed to bounce higher than the rest of them. Neko thought it was her fur.

The wind struck the clouds and tore them to shreds amid bright flashes of lightning and deafening thunder. Sunlight broke through in a dozen spots, leaving Neko half-blinded.

His instincts said to move.  He caught Shosha on a bounce and bounded halfway across the craft to where Luna and Reggie still had hold of Colin. Lightning struck so close behind that Neko felt it burn his tail as the boat shattered.

He hardly had time to panic before Dorian swept them all up into a magical net. Maude screamed with rage and fear as she fell past them.

"Dorian," Colin gasped.  He held to the glowing magic.  "We need help."

"Yes, my friend, we do.  Hold on.  We are going through The Veil."

Neko wondered if he should feel worry or delight.  Going through the Veil meant they were leaving the human world and going to the fae realm.

Unless they went to some other realm entirely.  Neko had read about a few, and he knew they could be dangerous, although when measured against an enraged witch like Maude, they were probably delightful vacation spots.

No one asked his opinion. They reached the edge of the veil and were going through the swirling rainbow colors before he could form a logical protest. Passing through the veil made his skin itch.  He wasn't sure if it was the veil or his worries about where --

They came out into a storm.  Of course, there was a storm. They had no dry days.  This one at least felt normal.  They drifted downward in a spiral that threatened to make Neko dizzy. The combination of rain and movement also made it impossible to get a feel for the world.  Was this the fae's home world?  Was it somewhere more human?  Did Colin know?

They settled onto a small boat sitting in a stream.  The current tugged the craft away from the veil.  Dorian, not using magic, leaped from the bank into the stern and gave a friendly nod, acting as if this madness was all part of a well-scripted plan. He signaled for silence.

Reggie moved closer to Neko and Shosha.  Neko watched the landscape of bright flowers and birds.  Scattered trees blocked some of the sunlight, helping to keep the temperature moderate.  This was the most pleasant place they had been in a while.

They kept silent for at least five miles.  Neko thought he heard a shout of frustration once and felt a touch of dark magic, but it seemed as though the land neutralized it.

This was a fae place, then.  He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"There will be a welcoming dinner when we get there," Dorian said.  The idea of food got Neko's attention, even asleep.  "But the council wants to talk to us, so don't expect too much formality."

"There is something to be grateful for," Colin replied.  He sounded exhausted.  "Bringing us to the outer realms was brilliant, as long as they don't hold any trouble against us.  So, a few rules this time, my friends.  Take any insult with a smile, but do not counter it.  If someone is rude and shoves you aside, bow and let them pass.  Neko and Shosha should remain silent until Dorian or I ask you a question.  Don't let them know you can speak and understand."

Neko realized that made them perfect spies.

Flash Fiction # 658 -- More Neko Adventures/6

 

The storm blotted out the sunlight, but Maude still glowed with a hellish orange and red light.  Ghostly lightning played across her face.  She had changed, and not for the better.

Colin put more power into their protective wall. Neko felt a hint of desperation in the act- and perhaps that was exactly what he was seeing.  This was an act for the megalomaniac Maude, who would never consider the true power of a fae.

Now, he didn't know what to expect. Neko supposed this wasn't any different from the rest of the trip. He moved up to Reggie, who gave a grim nod.  Did the penguin understand any better than Maude?

Maude came close enough that Neko could see the look of glee on her face. With a sweep of her arms, a flash of light struck the barrier. A spiderweb design spread out in all directions.

So appropriate.

Maude grinned with fiendish delight- and other over-the-top descriptions- as she raised her arms. Colin moved faster, clapping his hands once and throwing blinding power at his own shield.

Neko blinked several times before he could clearly see what had happened. The shield had moved and contracted into a bubble around Maude. Her face had gone from ghostly white to fire red. She must have been screaming, but the sound didn't escape the bubble.

"We go now," Colin ordered and swayed slightly. Neko rushed to him and rubbed magic against his legs.  Colin nodded his thanks.  Then he looked at the Kachinas.  "I wouldn't want to be around here if I were you.  The magic won't hold her for long."

They scattered, except for one that Neko recognized as the first that had talked to them.

He stood his ground.  "We never-"

"She didn't lie, you didn't lie, we didn't lie," Colin interrupted. "And yet here we are.  Go.  We are leaving your lands."

The Kachina turned and walked away, disappearing into the still stormy night. Neko feared he could hear Maude's screams of rage. Colin led them quickly away, but Neko wondered and worried about why he wasn't using magic.

They had rushed away for at least twenty minutes, and Neko couldn't imagine that Maude would remain trapped for much longer. They went up one small berm  that led around the edge of a rock formation --

And there sat the car!

Colin waved some magic at it.  "Go!"

The car roared to life and took off in a miniature sandstorm, racing across the desert.

Without them.

"Colin!"  Luna yelped while Shosha cried in despair.

"Hurry! Climb in!"
Neko wanted to point out that the car was already a few miles away, but he stopped when he saw something lift into the air from where the car had been.  It took him a moment to make out the sleek, dark shape of a boat.  Colin waved for us to get in, and no one argued.

I
Neko took a running leap and cleared the side as it approached his level. The others were all joining him, with Colin last. Neko landed on some lovely fluffy pillows, which he found amusing. Leave it to the Fae to ensure that even a dangerous escape was comfortable.

Colin was working with the sails, which were as dark as the rest of the boat. They were already moving.

"I am going closer to the storm," Colin explained. "We don't want to be out there in the midst of nowhere with all this magic to draw her attention. The car is heading straight for Dorian, and he has a surprise for her. We just need to stay out of the way."

Neko thought that sounded more promising than he had expected.  Flying wasn't as bad as he expected, either.  Shosha didn't appear to feel the same way.  She made so much noise that Colin used a little sleep spell to get her through the trip.

He looked at Neko.

"I am fine," he said and looked around.  Reggie stood at the helm with the wind in his face. Neko would have thought him a real penguin who had always wanted to fly. Maybe that was part of being a familiar.  Maybe they took on the aspects of the creatures they represented.  

Thinking about Reggie took his mind off of Maude until a gust of wind nearly tipped them on the side.  Colin got the craft under control and must have felt they were close enough to the storm.  He fought the sails around without the use of magic.  Luna placed Shosha by Neko and went to help.

Neko  wanted to help, but he stayed and held onto Shosha instead.  Neko knew he was small, and the only way he could help would be to use magic, which would make matters worse.

The storm grew worse.  Neko feared they had not tricked Maude. The surrounding magic grew stronger - but no.  That was not Maude's magic. It might be something far worse.

Neko almost attempted to cross the boat to warn Colin, but the craft still wasn't under control. Even if he thought he could make it, it was too difficult for Shosha to cross and too dangerous to leave her behind. He believed this was not Maude's work, so there was only one other answer.

Most humans never realized that magic was far more common in their world than they would have believed. All of nature held magic, and it did not like to play with other forms of power, including the magic of the Fae. Colin knew this, of course.  However, he was focused on stopping Maude and the storm. Neko couldn't get to him, but he could send something by magic. He created a tiny ball and shoved just one word into it, and with all the power he could manage, the little cat threw the message to his companion.

Colin never saw it coming. The ball hit him in the middle of the forehead, and he fell backwards out of the boat.

Flash Fiction #657 -- More Neko Adventures/5

Neko decided it was best to turn the car over to Colin or Luna since it took too much of his attention. He wanted to know what they might be up against.

Colin drove in silence for a few miles. Then, he took an off-ramp and parked at a deserted truck stop.

"Reggie, tell us everything you remember about the storm and the trouble you felt."

"When I left you, I headed for the mountains where I sensed some sort of power link to the land.  What I found was nothing I'd ever seen before.  At first, the link seemed to dance with the lightning, but I soon felt something beneath my feet. I sensed it did not like the unnatural storm.  It felt Maude's presence and disliked her -- it was an old hatred.  I thought I was with her, but my thoughts convinced them otherwise.  Somehow, we worked together."

"Do you have any idea what they were?" Neko asked.  "I remember nothing like this while Maude held me."

He had been catching more than the words Reggie spoke. There was a sense of ... things coming together to deal with Maude --

"Kachinas," Neko said.  "They are figurines representing items in the real world, or ancestors and gods. She studied them once, but we never got to this area. This is not a surprise, but she wanted to find a way to subdue them and drain their power."

The ground shook.

"Someone is listening," Luna said as she stared out the window.  "Is it her or them?"

"Both," Neko and Reggie chorused.

Colin started to drive away, but they hadn't even reached the on-ramp before another storm was upon them. This one was unlike the others in the storm and the magic that drew it together. The thunder beat like drums, and when the hail came, it sounded like tiny feet on the car's roof.

A Kachina slid down from the roof to the windshield and pounded on the glass. Luna tried to wave it away, but it gave a shout of defiance, and a dozen more joined it.  They pounded against the glass with fists and weapons made mostly of wood.  The glass still cracked despite all the magic Colin had put into the car.

"Stop that!" Luna ordered, sounding not at all like herself. Even Shosha looked startled. "If you keep that up, you will just draw her attention!"

The original Kachina came through the window without breaking the glass. Shosha and Neko both hissed, but the tiny figure stood up to them.

"You cannot order me!" he shouted, his voice reverberating through the car. He pointed to the cats. "These creatures are linked to her. You cannot fool me."

"Her magic trapped us," Neko answered.  "Would the fae stay with us if we were her helpers? She forced you into this battle, didn't she?  Why are you helping her now?"

That caught the Kachina by surprise. Neko realized this was one of those magical creatures that knew the truth when he heard it. That would make it easier to deal with them, but it also raised a question.

"How did Maude lie to you to get your help?" Neko asked.

"She never lied. She told us exactly what she would do to the land and the people if we did not help. We had no choice but to believe her. Your penguin companion saved us all."

"You can see him?" Colin asked.

"He is part of our world, not yours."

"What do we do now?" Colin asked.

"I fear that by interfering with your journey, we have drawn Maude's attention back to you."

"She is getting closer," Reggie agreed.  "And in no better of a mood."

"She has never been happy," Shosha replied.  No one argued. "What do we do now?"

Colin threw open the car door.  "Everyone out.  I am sending the car off on its own.  That should keep her busy."

"We will go with the car," the Kachina added.  Others of his kind seemed to like this idea from how they leaped and shouted.  "That will confuse her as well."

Neko didn't like the idea of heading off into the desert on foot.  Again. Reggie had said little during the first hour of the walk, and Neko wondered what the penguin thought.

"Is there a problem, Reggie?" Neko asked.

"A question that nags at me," he said and frowned up at the sky.  "He didn't say what Maude had told them, only that they believed her. We were quick to assume that she threatened them.  Kachinas are often tricksters.  It is possible that was what we were meant to believe."
They had all slowed down, but Neko was the first to stop and look back.
"The storm is still there," he said.  "It is not moving very fast, but it is still heading our way, I fear."
The others stopped and looked back as well.  Neko could see looks of resignation on all their faces, including Reggie's.   They stared long enough to confirm what Neko had guessed and to note that it was picking up speed.

"They are sometimes tricksters," Reggie mumbled to himself.  "You just can't trust tricksters, especially when they are being helpful."

"We can't outrun it," Luna added while Shosha tried to burrow into her jacket.  "And I have the feeling that now that we noticed, we aren't going to  have much time to prepare."

Wind whipped dust up around them and Neko swore he could hear the echo of Maude's laugh. He spun and would have run if Reggie hadn't gotten in his way.  Colin swept him up and protected them all with a wall of air that blocked the sand, dust, and debris that flew straight at them.

Neko could tell that Colin couldn't hold it for long.  He hoped that Dorian had sensed that they were already in trouble.  The power of the wind doubled and the wall was not holding back everything.

He saw Maude walking toward them.



 

Flash Fiction # 656 -- More Neko Adventures/4

 

The fae didn't drop the invisibility shield until we were all in the room.

By then, it was too late.

Someone- or something- stood by the window.  The shape moved aside, and a corner of a curtain fell back into place, covering the storm.

"You did an excellent job," Dorian said.

"Reginald," I said, jumped onto the bed, and leaped closer to my spirit animal.  "I should have realized that you had powerful magic."

"Friends," he said and blinked as the light came on.  He looked ruffled and unsteady. "I wish I'd had a chance to talk to you about it first."

"You did the right thing. None of us could have used magic against her," Dorian replied.  He went to the window and stared out between the curtains. "We are lucky in our choice of refuge.   I see several restaurants within a few blocks."

"Luck?" Colin asked.  "When Luna made the choice of where we stay?"

"I did foresee food," Luna admitted with a laugh.

Luna and Dorian went out to find food and other supplies. Neko tried not to worry.  He paced for a little while, then curled up on one bed and slept.

Neko ignored that there had only been one bed and the room had been smaller when they arrived.  No one had used strong magic to make the changes, but he still worried that Maude would sense it.  Was the storm worse?

Shosha climbed up on the bed and snuggled in next to Neko as though she'd always slept that way.  Neko almost protested, but she was warm and soft.

The food arrived somewhat later. They had managed a good selection of types, including sushi for Reginald.

"I hope it is suitable for you, Reggie," Dorian said.  "Can I call you that?"

"The food is quite wonderful. You must ask Neko about the name, though."

Neko swallowed a bite of baked fish.  He shook his head. "You can decide-"

"Actually, I can't.  Once we meet, everything that affects your impression of me has to be your choice. That includes name, voice --"

"Shape?" Neko asked.

"Oh yes.  I am a penguin because I assumed such a creature wouldn't be out of place on a beach. I have learned quite a bit about penguins since I arrived.  Luna has been considerable help."

"So you could be anything I want?"

"There might be limitations, but I don't know them," he said.  "What is your preference?"

"Let me consider it.  Since others can't see you, it won't matter if you are unusual."

"Humans don't see me under most circumstances. I don't know if I would take a chance at being a dragon, though it might be interesting."

I saw Colin looking at me with a shake of his head.  "Don't get into trouble."

Neko shook his head.  He would have thought Colin would know better by now.  A line like that was a challenge to a cat. Although thinking about it, he got along so well with Colin because of the fae's cat-like attitude toward life.

They ate almost everything, and even the fae, who rarely slept, settled on their beds to rest. Neko woke often expecting disaster, but they made it through the night with no trouble.  The storm faded away before midnight, and it looked like a calm, normal day by dawn.

None of them trusted it.

"We can't stay here any longer," Colin admitted with a sigh.  "She is bound to be looking for us, and we'll be easy to find if our magic accumulates anymore."

"We would get bored anyway," Neko offered, though he burrowed farther into the blankets.  

Shosha, who had been under the covers, peeked her head out. "Maude tried to find us through my dreams," she said. Don't worry. Dorian kept by me the whole time, and together, we sent the witch into the Amazon basin.  She'll be lost for a while."

"What can we do with this time?" Luna asked.

"Go for a ride," Colin answered.  "We still don't want to stay too long."

"I am going to Faeland and see what I can learn," Dorian added.  "She has been kicking up too much trouble and using too much magic to go unnoticed, but we've had remarkably little help from there."

"Move carefully," Colin advised.  "It is hard to guess what they might be thinking there.  Fae can be remarkably blind to human trouble.  We might get lucky, though.  They were already interested in Maude."

Dorian nodded.  "All of you, be careful.  I still have a thread linked to the group, so I should know if you run into trouble."

He turned and walked toward the door but disappeared before he got that far. The others were already packing up and preparing to leave. They said very little. The morning had brought the reality that nothing had changed.

Neko, Luna, and Shosha went out the side door and waited for Colin. He arrived in a fancy sports car, which cheered Neko, especially when Colin arranged the front seat so that Neko could stand and work the steering wheel while Colin took care of the gas and brake pedals.

Neko had never had so much fun.  He swerved in and out of traffic on the freeway while the others talked around him.

"Why are we heading back into the desert again?" Neko finally asked.

"Maude had more power here than she should have held," Colin explained.  He slowed the car as they started around a semi. "Our job is to find places she's linked to and cut the threads.  It is not going to be easy.  Besides, the desert is between us and getting home.  We'd have to face it sometime."

"From what I could feel," Reginald began, "I thought I could sense an ancient force that was feeding the storm.  It felt like something akin to the land, a power that belonged here -- and was not happy about waking up."

"Wonderful," Colin said.

Flash Fiction #655 -- More Neko Adventures/3

 

"What do we do?" Shosha cried. Her fur had fluffed out, and I couldn't find her head. She had moved into Luna's arms and was now trying to burrow into Luna's jacket. She pulled it open, and Shosha disappeared, but I could still hear her.  "Where can we go?"

Reginald moved to block some of the wind and leaned close to Colin.  "I am pure magic.  I am too much of a beacon to her. Send me on somewhere away from you!"

Colin touched the penguin, and he disappeared. Neko felt his heart thump, hoping the penguin had found somewhere safe. He wasn't safe with them—no one was.

"Where do we go?" Neko asked and feared he sounded too much like Shosha.

"Into the storm!" Colin shouted.

They were all so surprised that we followed without thinking.  A few steps later, I realized we were in the monster's heart.  Colin grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and then held me close while Luna and Dorian moved closer.

Dorian even grabbed Colin by the shoulders and shook him.  "Are you crazy!"

 Colin pulled away and held me closer.  "Too much magic.   She can't find us here. That is why the storm is still heading toward the town. It is the only logical direction for us to go."

"You are spending too much time with the cat." Dorian looked at me as though he thought I would argue. "Where do we go now?  We don't want to be standing here when the storm passes."

There were few choices and not much time to decide.  I left it to the others and snuggled in closer to Colin. The rain had not lessened, but the lightning and thunder had died down. The wind, however, had become chaotic.

Why?

"Head to the town!" Neko shouted.  "Hurry!"

"Neko!" Colin exclaimed.

"She can't find us.  That's the chaotic wind.  She already checked the direction of the town --"

They were already moving back into the heart of the storm. Although Neko hated it, he believed this was the only safe direction.  The others agreed, or they wouldn't be plowing through this gale and using very little magic.

Colin had made a small magic chain that hooked them together. Neko caught the links with claws and clamped on as tightly as he could.  Shosha did the same -- he could feel her through the magic.

Oddly, he missed Reginald.  Maybe having such a strange suited him after all.  They hadn't been together long, and Neko still had no idea what a spirit animal should do. However, to be fair, he couldn't say he understood the work of a magical cat, either.

Those were not questions for now.  Neko added it to a long list of 'later' subjects that he had been collecting and just did his best to hold on to the chain and keep track of the others.

They had almost reached the edge of the storm when something drew the clouds off to the left and away from them. They were at the edge of a small town and, amid the locals, within a few steps.

"I have never seen a storm act like that!" a woman said nearby. "I was just going to jump in the car and drive as fast as I dared."

"A wise human," Colin mumbled.  "But what did pull the storm away?"

There was a question Neko hadn't thought to ask yet. He watched the storm continue to turn and retreat, heading toward some barren hills a few miles away. None dared to use magic to discover what might be happening.

Better, he thought, to just get away while they could.  But how? They couldn't use magic to conjure a car. They might have to find a place to stay and just hold out until they were certain Maude had lost interest in the area.

She was a stubborn witch. They might be stuck for a long time.
Something brightened, and Neko looked upward with shock, but it was not the sky. A bubble of blue light rose from the hills, split into countless smaller bubbles, and threw themselves at the clouds.

"I'm out of here," the woman said and hurried away.

She was not the only one.  Few remained to watch the second blast of blue light.  By then, the new magic had torn the storm to shreds, and the magic that had controlled it dissipated along with the clouds.

Neko would have liked it better if he had known where Maude had gone or even who their new allies might be. That had been powerful magic to toss around, but Neko had felt nothing like it before. Neko knew enough about magical beings to realize that even if one had helped them, it didn't mean they were on the same side.
The fae must have thought the same thing.  Neither had used any magic to get them somewhere else or to look for friends or foes. They remained watchful, though.  Luna, however, looked around the area and then pointed down a busy street behind them.

"I see the sign for a hotel down there," she said as she squinted.  "If we stay here, maybe we can get a room."

"Yes," Neko agreed.  "I am soaked.  But what if they don't allow animals?"

"I think it best if they don't see most of us," Colin replied, walking away.  "I can find nothing of Maude nearby, so we would be wise to take cover while we have the chance."

Colin arranged for a plush room while the rest of us stayed behind Dorian's invisibility spell.  We were fine until the manager began sneezing.  She looked suspiciously at Colin and his two pieces of conjured luggage."

"Cat?" she asked and sneezed.

"No.  But I visited friends who had a few cats."

"That's it.  Stupid allergy.  Have a good stay."

Neko hoped for one night's sleep. He ignored the distant flash of lightning.

Flash Fiction #654 -- More Neko Adventures/2

 

The ocean was cold, loud with the pounding surf, and powerful. The water caught hold of me, dragging me away from the shore and downward toward the seabed. Small shapes scattered through the murky water.

I gathered all of this in a couple of heartbeats, along with the realization that something large and dangerous lurked nearby. And my head would explode --

Something huge rushed at me.  I made my peace with Bastet just before Reginald caught my right front leg in his beak and dragged me up to the surface.  I gasped for air -- and saw the shark propelling toward us.

"Shark," I gasped and got more water than air.  Thunder boomed around us.  "Let go, Reginald!  You can get clear --"

He grunted something and didn't let go.  I could barely see the shore, there and gone again, between each break of a wave over us.  But the good news was that Reginald could swim fast, even dragging me along.

The shark could swim even faster, but we had the fae on our side.  As I was making peace with Bastet once more, the shark lunged forward --

And then it was up and flying over the top of us as Colin gave the creature a lesson in being a bird.  I watched as he disappeared into the clouds.  I think the creature wasn't impressed.

Reginald and I liked our ride in an air bubble back to the car.  The vehicle had grown a bit to accommodate more passengers. Luna was in the driver's seat, and Shosha sat on her shoulder. I sensed Darion's magic there.  The kitten would not fall off.

I threw myself into Colin's lap and snuggled in -- then lifted my head.  "Thank you, Reginald."

The penguin looked startled, and I realized how rude I'd been since his arrival.  I still couldn't reconcile myself to having a penguin as a spirit animal, but that wasn't Reginald's fault.  I would have to talk to Colin about how this worked.  Maybe we could find Reginald a better partner.

Luna had no trouble handling the car as we raced away from the ocean.  It had been nice while it lasted, but the storm grew larger, brighter, and louder as it followed us.

"We need to do something drastic," Colin shouted.  The wind had caught up to us, and the car, magic or not, could not keep steady.  "We need to be somewhere else."

Darion agreed.  "Out of her sight.  No magic when we get there --"

They didn't bother to talk to the rest of us.  One moment, lightning struck a tree a few feet away; the next heartbeat, we were sitting on the ground in the middle of nowhere.  I couldn't see a single light or hear anything man-made. The sun was about to disappear behind a distant mountain range, but for a moment, I could see the cacti everywhere.

"Desert," Reginald said in utter astonishment. "I am sure I am not supposed to be in a desert."

"Colin and Darion are gone," Luna added.

I looked around and nodded.  "They are trying to lead the trouble away from us.  There is our storm off to the northeast."

Lightning obediently flashed in that direction, a shot of red fire through the clouds. That was not a natural storm.

"What should we do?" Shosha whispered.  "I don't enjoy being out here."

"We head west," Luna replied, putting Shosha on her shoulder. "And no, I haven't had a vision. I can see the lights of a town in that direction."

Luna had the advantage of height.  All I could see were bumps of cacti and ridges of rock and sand.  I couldn't see the lights, but I trusted Luna.  Reginald and I followed at her heels when she started in that direction.  The penguin was less happy about our location than me.  I didn't mind the place because it was still somewhat warm, and there were no sharks.

Then I considered snakes and wished one of the fae was around to carry me. I looked back and found the storm had grown noticeably larger and closer.  I worked at being annoyed rather than afraid.

"Why is it after us?" I finally asked.  "It is Maude's storm, right?"

"Yes," Reginald said.  "And it is not us she wants; it's you.  As her familiar, she invested you with a lot of her power.  She wants it back now."

The truth shocked me.  I had never considered that my previous link to Maude might still be reason enough for her to come after me.  I could believe she would do anything for vengeance, and she had to hold a grudge against all of us by now.  Probably even Reginald.  But she was coming specifically for me?

My presence put everyone in danger.

From one step to the next, I changed direction and speed, heading first to the left and then straight for the storm.  I didn't know what I could do, but there had to be something that would help.

Luna shouted my name a few times, but I ran fast, mindful of those snakes that lurked in the growing darkness. I thought the storm would scare them back into their holes.  I might join one at this point.  The lightning no longer danced across the sky.  It forked down to the ground, stabbing so close that I could sometimes feel the tingle of power.  I stopped behind a slightly higher ridge to catch my breath and try to make plans.

"What do we do now?" Reginald asked.

"MEOW!"

"Are you alright, Neko?" he asked, sounding sincerely worried.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. Too loud.  Maude might hear us.

"I'm your spirit animal.  Where would you expect me to be?"

He had a point.  I hadn't yet taken in the idea of a spirit animal.  I suspected I could force him to leave, but it would take power that I didn't want to waste and might draw her attention.

Lightning struck closer to us.

Flash Fiction # 653--More Neko Adventures/1

 

(Continued from Neko's Trip Home/18 10/25/24)

I tried to ignore the giant emperor penguin as I turned and headed toward Colin.  Unfortunately, the big guy talked a lot.  Constantly.  I wanted to strangle him before we reached the blanket where the others sat enjoying the ocean sunset.

"Neko," Colin said with a smile.  "Chase all the gulls -- oh."

"I seem to have a problem."

Colin nodded and waved his hand through the air. In that moment, the others saw, and heard, my talkative new companion. Shosha squeaked and threw herself into Luna's lap while Colin and Dorian stared, both looking confused.

"And this is?" Dorian asked, his voice not quite calm.

"Reginald," the penguin answered.  "I am Neko's spirit animal."

"Neko is a cat," Colin replied.

"That presents a certain challenge, don't you think?" Reginald smiled.  I wished he wouldn't do that.  "It's hard enough to find someone who believes enough to see a spirit animal, let alone accept our help. Neko sees me, accepts what I am, but still won't believe I am his spirit animal."

"Neko is a cat," Colin repeated.

"I mentioned that to Sister Spirit," Reginald replied.  "However, Sister Spirit felt that since we'd all had encounters with Maude --"

I don't know what reaction he'd expected it, but it clearly was not seeing the fae and human surge to their feet. The penguin leaped backward, wobbled and fell on his face. Dorian helped him back up.  The rest of us waited, rather impatiently, for Reginald to explain himself.

"I can see you all know who Maude is," the penguin said.

"We had hoped she was dead," Colin replied, his voice unexpectedly laced with anger.  

Shosha hissed.  Luna stared out at the waves, but I had the feeling she saw something more.

"Luna?" I whispered as I nudged her leg.

"Not dead," she agreed, and shook her head in disgust.  "I should have realized the traces I keep seeing aren't from the past."

An inordinate amount of cursing followed Luna's statement, and spoken in several languages. Reginald had a moment of shock. I wondered if we could trust him, though.  He had said the magic name, but that could be a trick to get us to take him in.

I looked at Colin and could tell he wasn't completely taken in, either.  I didn't know what we could do to test him, either.  Could we contact Sister Spirit, whom he had mentioned?  And if we did, could we trust her?  Had Maude touched them all and they were now untrustworthy?

And what did that mean about me?

There had to be another answer.

I still felt a chill and shivered -- and saw Luna do the same thing.  The cold wasn't in my thoughts.  It came from the storm blowing in over the ocean. A real storm, too.  People who had paid no attention to us quickly packed their seaside belongings and headed for their cars.

"Colin," I said.

"I am getting the car ready," he said.  He looked troubled, which was no help at all.  "Dorian --"

"Getting everything ready," he replied.  I could feel his magic sweep around me.  I felt safer.  "Reginald will have to go with us."

"Of course," Colin agreed.

And now not so safe.  I almost protested, but it would have been rude.  Besides, the storm was almost on us, and I figured we could settle this matter somewhere else with less wind and rain.

Reginald moved closer and blocked the worst of the storm.  I still felt uneasy, but it was nicer.  I gathered up Shosha so that she didn't get blown away and she settled between my front paws. Luna saw her and nodded, but the seer seemed distracted.  I didn't take that as a good sign, as though the storm itself wasn't trouble enough.

The storm was magnificent and I would have liked to watch it if I hadn't suspected it was aimed right at us.  The clouds had spread from north to south and were pillowing upward as well. Lightning flashed from cloud to cloud and then speared down to the sea. The storm grew larger and closer with each wave.

I could feel Maude in it, and more powerful than I had hoped.  Dorian and Colin seemed to feel the same way.  They murmured to each other about something dire.  I wanted them to get moving --

Colin nodded and disappeared. This wasn't what I wanted at all!

Dorian pulled us all into a tighter group.

"Colin has gone to the car," he said. He still looked troubled.  "The rest of us need to get there with as little magic as possible. The only magic I'll use will hide Neko, Reginald, and Shosha.  Luna --"

"I can make it," she said.  "Do you want me to take Shosha?"

"I will take her since I need the three of them with me," he replied.  "Go ahead of us so I can watch you.  Let's go!"

The crowd who had been here a few minutes ago had disappeared up the stairs to the road.  All I could see of them were footprints in the sand, and a few small pieces of trash.  They had been remarkably good about cleaning up.

I looked back when we reached the stairs and wished that I hadn't. The clouds had obscured the sky and the ocean had grown to cover all but a small portion of the sand.  Waves rose higher with each strike.

"Go!" I ordered to Reginald.  Dorian held tight to Shosha just as a wave hit the bottom of the ladder. They were almost at the top.  "Get moving, Reginald!"

"I can't!" The words sounded both angry and anguished.  "I can't climb stairs!  Not in weather like this!"

I snarled and then did something stupid.  I used just enough magic to send Reginald up the steps to the roadway above.  He made an odd shout and then Dorian yelled.  I started up --

But the next wave caught my legs and dragged me away.